


you put your arms around me (and i'm home)

by queenC_13



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Cat doesn't know Kara is Supergirl, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenC_13/pseuds/queenC_13
Summary: On the anniversary of Krypton's death, Cat finds herself helping Kara through a difficult moment





	you put your arms around me (and i'm home)

**Author's Note:**

> Elevator AU prompt curtesy of my lovely girlfriend. Set sometime before season 1

Usually, Kara loved anniversaries. People posting about their relationship or wedding anniversaries? Adorable. People posting about anniversaries of lost loved ones? She sent her sympathies. Birthdays? Her absolute favorite thing to celebrate in the world.

But there was one exception.

_ The _ anniversary.

The one of Krypton exploding.

Of losing her family.

Of losing her entire  _ world. _

Yeah, Kara hated this anniversary.

Normally she would curl up in a ball under her covers, draw all the curtains in her room, and remain there for the entire day. When she was younger, Eliza would try to get her to emerge and eat something, but that never worked. Most times Alex would wrap her body around her younger sister, providing the physical comfort that Kara often craved.

But now Kara’s an adult. She has a full time job--with Cat Grant, no less--and she can’t afford to wallow in her sadness. So while it feels like she’s being torn to shreds like her planet 11 years previous, she has to do her work. Even if it destroys her.   
  


* * *

 

Kara’s been at Catco for about 8 months now, and while Cat continues to call her by the wrong name, she’s also developed an unfortunate soft spot for the girl. Cat has tried not to get attached, oh has she tried, but it’s simply become useless.

Cat Grant doesn't  _care_ for Kara Danvers.

Really, she doesn't.

But if she  _did_ , Kara could never know.

And if Cat happens to constantly be noticing and learning new facts about her, that just means she takes note immediately that something off with her assistant when she glides into the office that morning. 

Kara doesn’t do anything different, no. She has Cat’s latte ready and waiting for her and trails obediently after Cat into her office while reading out her schedule for the morning, same as everyday.

But there’s something off.

Instead of hovering around, waiting for more orders, Kara simply turns around to leave once she’s done rattling off Cat’s schedule for the day.

“ _ Kiera, _ ” Cat snaps, waiting for the girl to turn back to her. If she’s shocked by the emptiness in the girl’s eyes, well, she’s not worrying about it. Kara herself says nothing, staring at Cat stone-faced as she waits for her boss's orders. “Never mind,” Cat finally mutters, watching the girl walk away without another word.

* * *

Kara just doesn’t have the  _ energy _ today . It’s a sunny day out, but she just can’t be that “sunny girl Danvers” that everyone expects of her right now.

“Hey Kara!”

She takes a deep breath: another thing she doesn’t have time for today, as horrible as it sounds--her friends.

“Hey Winn,” she says, much less enthusiastically.

“Did you hear about the new algorithms from Facebook? People on the Internet are losing their minds because-”

Kara doesn’t listen to the rest. Why should she? It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, not today. Nothing matters except the thundering in her ears that won’t go away, the memory of the muted  _ boom _ that signified her planet exploding, not quite connecting with the sight of it being ripped apart into pieces. She can vividly remember the way her chest also felt like it was exploding, unable to really cope with the knowledge that her parents were there, within that explosion. That they didn’t exist anymore, and neither did anyone else. That it was just her, alone in her pod-

“Kara? Are you listening?”

She sighs, ripped from her thoughts. “Sorry Winn, guess I’m just a bit under the weather today,” she says, ignoring the hurt look on his face as she stands up and walks away, intending to find some work to keep her occupied and away from the memories, lingering so close.

* * *

Cat watches from her office as Kara ignores Witt-face and completely brushes him off, walking away from her friend without so much as a second glance.

If she were the type to worry about anyone other than herself--or Carter--this would certainly be another cause for concern. But since she does  _ not _ care for Kiera, she will certainly  _ not _ be keeping a close eye on her today.

If she happens to keep calling Kara into her office to give her a dozen and one jobs that keep her close, well, that’s a bonus.

And if she happens to order a little too much food for her own lunch, ‘accidentally’ getting pot stickers instead of spring rolls, well… that’s just a coincidence.

* * *

Kara sinks down into her desk chair, letting out a breath of relief. She hasn’t had time to talk to anyone today with how busy Cat was keeping her, and if she were in the presence of mind to dwell on it she’d think her boss was actually doing it on purpose.

As it is, she’s just grateful for the constant work keeping her away from her thoughts. She’s made it to 8pm with only a flicker of her memories, and even managed to choke down a few of Cat’s extra potstickers during lunch. She’s had a few messages from Alex, too, but overall it’s been a day of complete mindless work.

She sighs as she gathers her things, not quite ready to go home yet. She knows she could call Alex and have her sister stay with her in a heartbeat, but she doesn’t think she can even voice the words in her head.

“Kiera!” she hears as she’s walking towards the elevator. She turns around to see Cat standing by her personal elevator, hand cocked on her hip, eyebrow raised. “There’s no one in the office. You’re riding down with me.”

After a moment of staring, Kara snaps back into movement with a quick “chop chop!” from her boss. 

The two stand together in silence as the elevator doors slide shut, which is just fine with Kara. What isn’t fine, however, is a moment later when the elevator jerks downwards with a screech right before the lights shut off. The emergency lights flicker on, casting the space in an eerie, cold blue light. 

“Oh for God’s sake,” Cat grumbles, pressing the emergency button repeatedly. “Hello! Are any of you imbeciles there? I am stuck in my  _ own _ elevator and you need to get it working immediately!”

Kara dimly hears the telephone crackling to life, a tinny voice responding to Cat. She tries to focus on their voices, but they start to sound further and further away, as the metal walls surrounding her begin to enclose around her body. Spots start to surround her vision as the groaning of the pipes gets louder. A crash sounds from deep below them, immediately thrusting Kara back into her memories from this morning. 

She’s back in her pod. She can’t see anything except the vastness in front of her. She can’t hear anything except the vacuum of space. She’s trapped. She’s going to die here. She’s going to die here, alone, right after her parents, the people of her world. Kal-El will make it to Earth alone… he won’t have anyone to take care of him. He won’t know of Krypton, of their parent’s sacrifices. Nothing of Krypton is left. Soon, Kara won’t be left.

A choking sound reaches Kara’s ears, and she realizes it’s her. She can’t breathe--her chest is collapsing in on itself. There’s no air; there’s no way out.

_ Kara _ , the voice sounds so close to her ear, yet so far away.  _ Kara, what can I do, how can I help? _ It sounds like Cat’s voice. Why is Cat in her pod with her?

Alex, her mind tries to say. She needs Alex.

She’s not sure if she says it out loud, but the voice is further away again.  _ No this isn’t Kara… yes. She asked for you. I think she’s having some sort of panic attack. No, we’re trapped. The elevator. Okay. Okay.” _

Soon she feels a warmth around her waist. Warmth? In the cold metal of her pod?

The warmth gets tighter, squeezing her middle.  _ Breathe, Kara. I need you to breathe with me. In… 2… 3… Out… 2… 3… come on, you can do it _ .

Kara tries to focus, following the voice, following the breathing. After what seems like hours but is likely only minutes, the weight starts to recede from her chest, as do the black spots in her vision.

The elevator.

She’s in the elevator, with Cat.

Cat, whose arms are currently wrapped tightly around Kara’s body with no indication of letting go.

“It’s okay,” Cat’s saying. “I’ve got you.”

It’s only then, with the registering of those words, that Kara breaks down for the first time all day. The sobs overtake her body, and she’s simply too exhausted to care about getting tears all over her boss's shirt. She’s pressed into Cat’s chest now, clutching to the older woman, needing her closer, closer, closer. The comfort seeps into her bones, making her feel present for the first time all day. Making her just  _ feel _ . 

The sobs die down, but Cat doesn’t let go. She continues stroking Kara’s hair, whispering soft reassurances in her ear. 

Kara realizes they’re both sitting on the floor of the elevator now, and she’s practically draped across Cat’s lap. Slowly she pulls back, afraid to look her boss in the eye.

Two fingers softly cup her chin, drawing a gasp from her lips as she looks up at Cat, seeing only compassion and… something else she’s not sure she wants to identify at the moment.

“It’s okay,” Cat repeats. “It’s okay, Kara.”

And maybe they won’t acknowledge this tomorrow. Kara will still be referred to as “Kiera,” will still be ordered around the office. Her family is still gone. But for the first time since she really bonded with Alex, Kara no longer feels alone. And that’s enough, for now.

So right now, it really is okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in about a year, so let me know what you thought!


End file.
